Blacksmithing Basics; Monday, Second Period [06/05].

[special_rabbit]

It was time to get started on the next lesson, so Amaya gave her gloves a tug and the class a nod. "Morning, everyone," she greeted. "At this point, most of you should have swords that resemble swords, and, with a little more sharpening, will probably work like swords, too, but we're not quite finished yet. Not unless you want a sword that's going to be less than pleasant to use by having a bare tang. Which is why today, we're working with hilts!

"Well," Amaya flashed them a faint grin, "we're going to get started on making some hilts; it's a bit of a process, which is why the idea of squeezing a whole sword project into essentially just seven days is a bit of a tall order.

"So! With that in mind, we're going to keep it simple and be working with wood for our handles and hilts, which should also be helpful for one of you," not naming names!, "who might be a bit behind this week. I've got a few types here for you to choose from, all of it either hardwood or what's called stabilized wood, which is wood that has been dried and hardened with a variety of chemicals. If you need help choosing, I can break down the benefits of the different types we have here, but they're all good choices, and, at this point, it'll mostly be about aesthetics than anything else.

"Once you've picked out your wood, we'll get started with how to make the handle! First thing you'll want to do, obviously, is measure out what you'll need against the tang--that's what we call the metal handle part, remember--of your sword..."

Amaya continued, breaking down all the dimensions and cutting they'd need to take at first...and then the measuring and cutting they'd need to do after that...and then the measuring and cutting they'd have to do after that, until they had a nice block of wood that had plenty of room still to work with that would match the tang nicely.

"Once you're at that point, you'll be boring some holes into your wood to create a nice little niche for the tang to fit into. Of course, with the drill," all hand, by the way, no power tools in this workshop!, "you're going to create a circular hole, but you've got a rectangular tang, so with the help of a nice serrated broach to carve out our space. And this is the part where you have to be careful, because it's a lot of work, but you've got to get it just right, and if you don't? Well! Back to the woodblocks, and it's a good thing we've got a lot of 'em, because it definitely does take some doing!

"Once you actually do have a good fit," Amaya said, reaching for one she prepared earlier so that they wouldn't all be waiting on her drilling and carving, "you'll have this," she held up a blade stuck into the large block of wood, "ridiculous looking thing. Obviously, a lot of this is going to be cut away to make for a more reasonable handle. Which hopefully we'll get to before we leave today, depending on how well you all manage your holes." No, she didn't hear it. "I'll definitely check your fit before we continue with that part, though, and then we'll go over how to check exactly where we'll need to carve, and then we'll get to cutting! And that should bring us to the end of our day and we can get to fancying it up next week.

"Any questions or anything to go over before I let you all get started?"

Underwater Basket Weaving and Other Aquatic Arts!; Monday, Third Period [06/05].

[in_sidon_we_trust]

Hopefully, everyone would have received the very lovely personalized little scrolls of messages that Sidon was very proud of himself for having written and sent out to everyone via either squirrel or crab, that cordially invited them to gather not at the beach for class that week, but rather in the DANGER SHOP!!! (yes, that was precisely how it had been written), so you knew it had to be good if they were going to meet in the DANGER SHOP!!! instead, right?

Right!

As a matter of fact, when they arrived, they would find themselves in a beautiful mountain vista not too dissimilar from the mountains surrounding Sidon's home, where clear and pristine pools of lakes were scattered among the rocks and trees and fed by a collection of waterfalls, some wide and roaring others small and trickling, from varying heights, all into the wide, deep pools before them.

"Hello again, my wonderful water weavers! And welcome to another exciting lesson in the Aquatic Arts! Today, we'll be covering an Art that is held in particular high regard among my people, and that is the Art of Diving! Everyone!" He made a dramatic swing of his arm in the air to beckon them into the water for taking a moment to jump up to an impressive height, even high enough that he could get in a good flip, before he twisted into a perfect dive into the water. He emerged a moment later with a wide, shining grin and called out, "If you'd like, there's a quick passage that will take you up to where I shall demonstrate, but if anyone would like to take a shortcut, hop on in and we'll give you a taste of waterfall climbing as well as waterfall diving! Just climb onto my back," because that was definitely a normal thing that happened in most classes, your teacher telling you just ride on his back, no big deal!, "and you'll see what I mean!"

And with that, whether solo or with a few brave passengers, Sidon swam up the waterfall with confidence, throwing in a few more flips once he breeched the top with a perfect landing to set anyone who may have been with him down and grin at the others as they took the more conventional route, and got started.

"Now," he declared, "the Art of Diving! Feel free to start with a smaller waterfall if you're less confident or new to this, but don't be discouraged! You've got this! I believe in you all! Just keep in mind these basic steps, and by the end of today, you'll be able to best some of the best Zora in diving! Now, to start, we'll do a few tumbles into this pool to get used to it..."

And with that, Sidon was on his way to giving some of the basic instructions and tips on how to improve one's dive or to merely boost up the confidence to try them! There was a large pool with an edge that made it easy to practice from the ground, as well as a few rocks with more elevation if you wanted to move up a bit, and, of course, if you were really ready for something a little more fun, there were several waterfalls from this point at varying heights just waiting to be dived from! Sidon will even give you another lift up the waterfall to get you back up to the summit faster!

(Although if anyone wanted to try the waterfall climbing themselves, he would be very encouraging, though he was pretty sure anyone else but him would need special armor to do so!)

Sam Eagle Presents WeirDONT'S: How Not To Be A Weirdo, Monday, Period Five, 6/5

[but_mostly_america]

As always, Sam was standing behind his podium at the front of the classroom. As always, Sam was ready to begin class at precisely the appointed time.

“Today, students, we will be learning about that Great American Pastime: Baseball. Baseball, being so very American is not weird at all. You would all do well to learn more about it! Especially those of you from other places.”

“We shall be watching portions of a documentary on this fine subject by that great American filmmaker, Ken Burns. It is called, very fittingly, Baseball and aired on public television, a fine American institution that brings wholesome culture to the masses.”

Sam cleared his throat and continued. “After we have watched some of this fine series we shall discuss baseball and perhaps why it is a superior sport to others you may be familiar with. Why, there is even a local team in Baltimore that is unfortunately named after an inferior bird, the oriole. If you wish to know more you would be wise to venture across the causeway to take in a game. Of course, you could always travel a little further to Washington to watch the very fine Nationals play!”

Sam nodded importantly to himself before turning on the projector. “Let us begin,” he said before ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ could be heard.

Galactic Field Trips, Monday

[unusual_sith]

Lana nodded to them all when they arrived, and led them through the portal to a small city on a world painted in oranges and reds, with a large, ringed moon high in the sky.

"Welcome to Voss. Until recently a very insular culture on a planet that's home to two distinct but related species that were at war with each other. More recently, the Voss and the Gormak have been working together. Those of you who met Sana-Rae back on Odessen, this is her home planet. We're in the city of Voss-Ka, in the alien enclave, where all outworlders land and for the most part where they stay. There are markets here, and a cantina, and the Voss are generally curious and eager to speak about just about anything you might wish."

She smiled ruefully. "It also wouldn't go amiss if you wanted to help with the rebuilding efforts at the Shrine of Healing. It was devastated in the war with Zakuul, and apparently it's important to have it rebuilt manually from stone."